SCLC National Magazine - Winter 2011 Issue

January / February / March

WINTER 2011

Southern Christian Leadership Conference N A T I O N A L M A G A Z I N E

50

th

Anniversary of the

Freedom Rides Bernard LaFayette Jr. SCLC National Vice Chairman

2011 Chapter & Leadership Conference in New Orleans

Empower Em power y your our dr dreams eams Dr. D r. M Martin artin L Luther u t he r K King ing Jr. Jr. had had a dream. dream. More More than than that, that, he he had had an an indomitable indomitable spirit, spirit, a dedication dedication to to ccommunity ommunity sservice lear v is i o n o au g h t u ervice aand nd a cclear ur n ation, n ot as as it it w as , b ut h ow it it could could be. be. H vision off o our nation, not was, but how Hee ttaught uss without action. action. That’s That’s why why Wells Wells Fargo Fargo is is committed committed to to working working with with y ou aand nd y ou r dreams you your dreams are are nothing nothing without a t i o nal p artnerships, g rants for for nonprofit nonprofit organizations organizations and and financial financial education e d u ca t i o n community national partnerships, grants community through through n he time time for for all all of of us us to to rrecommit e co m m i t o urselves tto oo ur fi na nc ial g oals , o ur ffamilies amilies aand nd o ur programs. ourselves our financial goals, our our programs. Now Now iiss tthe argo h onors an d ssupports upports th en ational K ing D ay of S ervice on J anuary 18, 2010.

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

His vision inspired a people. His voice reached a nation. And his words will live on forever. With courage and dignity, Martin Luther King, Jr. taught the values of truth, justice, and compassion. With an unbreakable spirit, he sought freedom and equality. As well as brotherhood. As we commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr., let us forever remember the man. His mission. And his message.

WINTER 2011 Issue vol. 40 / no.1

January / February / March

inside this issue

in every issue: 10.

12.

16.

18.

20.

22.

47.

National Executive Officers National Board Members SCLC Membership Application President’s Corner Chairperson’s Message Letter from the Vice Chairman Employment Opportunities

features: 23.

Recap: 2011 Chapter & Leadership Conference, By Damien Conners

HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS

Southern Christian Leadership Conference N A T I O N A L M A G A Z I N E

In Print Since 1970 MAGAZINE MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 92544 Atlanta, GA 30314 FOR ADVERTISING SALES INFO info@sclcmagazine.com www.sclcmagazine.com T 800.421-0472 F 800.292.9199 FOUNDER & PUBLISHER Steven Blood Sr., Ph.D. EXECUTIVE MANAGER Dawn MCKillop ART, LAYOUT, PRODUCTION, WEB, & ADMINISTRATIVE Monica Fett

24.

Dr. King & the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott, By Charlene Crowell

30.

Jo Ann Gibson Robinson: The Woman who Initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott

By Charles L. Alphin Sr.

SCLC NATIONAL HQ 320 Auburn Avenue Atlanta, Georgia 30312

36.

A Test Ride to Freedom

By Bernard LaFayette Jr.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Marian Parker

42.

Freedom Riders Threatened. Attacked. Jailed.

PBS Television Special

FINANCE & OFFICE MANAGER Donna Syms FIELD STAFF Frederick Moore

Cover Photo Credit: Pam Zappardino

655 Third A Avenue venue New York, York, NY Y 10017

6

SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

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2011 / EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Rev. Dr. Howard Creecy Jr. PRESIDENT

Mr. Isaac Newton Farris Jr. VICE PRESIDENT Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. FOUNDING PRESIDENT 1957-1968

Dr. Ralph D. Abernathy PRESIDENT EMERITUS 1968-1977

Dr. Joseph E. Lowery PRESIDENT EMERITUS 1977-1997

Mr. Martin Luther King III PAST PRESIDENT 1998-2003

Rev. Dr. Sylvia K. Tucker CHAIRWOMAN

Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. VICE CHAIRMAN

Mr. Randal L. Gaines, Esq. TREASURER

Dr. Gertie Thompson Lowe SECRETARY

Bishop Calvin Woods CHAPLAIN

Mr. Bennie Roundtree SERGEANT AT ARMS

Rev. Dr. Barrett Johnson

Mr. Jeremy Ponds RECORDING SECRETARY

Rev. Fred E. Shuttlesworth PAST PRESIDENT 2004 COMPLIANCE OFFICER PARLIAMENTARIAN

Dr. Charles Steele Jr. PAST PRESIDENT 2005-2008 Mr. Charles Mathis, Esq. LEGAL CONSULTANT FOR SCLC NATIONAL BOARD

10 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

Filled with favorite foods and full of unforgettable stories, the serving dishes that have graced dinner tables for generations are more than just plates. They’re treasured pieces of family history that remind us that the past isn’t just facts. And it’s those wonderful traditions that have nourished families and kept them strong for centuries. So, enjoy a big plate of history this month. It’s delicious.

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2011 / NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS

Rev. Dr. Sylvia Tucker SCLC National Chairperson

Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. SCLC National Vice Chairperson

Presently Elected Board Members ONE YEAR TERM Dr. Howard Creecy Jr. / Atlanta, Georgia Rev. Barrett Johnson / Scottdale, Georgia Dr. Art Rocker / Pensacola, Florida

TWO YEAR TERM Rev. Forell Bering / LaPlace, Louisiana

Dr. Art Rocker SCLC Special Assistant to the Chairperson & Vice Chairperson 12 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

Mr. Joseph Boston / Washington, North Carolina Rev. Byron Clay / LaPlace, Louisiana

⤴

Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr. / Tuskegee, Alabama

Newly Elected Board Members

Ms. Cynthia Willard Lewis / New Orleans, Louisiana TERMS TO BE ANNOUNCED Mr. William “Bill” Lucy / Washington, D.C. Ms. Jamida Orange / Atlanta, Georgia

Dr. Charles Becknell, Ph.D. / Rio Rancho, N. Mex.

Dr. Cheryl D. Gray / Lakeland, Tennessee

Bishop Richard Cox / Dayton, Ohio

Mr. J.T. Johnson / Atlanta, Georgia

Mr. Isaac Newton Farris Jr. / Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. Warren Ray Jr. / New Orleans, Louisiana

Ms. Lavoris Harris / Washington, DC

Ms. Rita Jackson Samuels / Atlanta, Georgia

Ms. Karen Lowery / Atlanta, Georgia

Ms. Karen Scales-Freeman / Anniston, Alabama

Ms. Roselyn Pelles / Washington, DC

Rev. Dr. Sylvia Tucker / Disputanta, Virginia

Rev. Dr. Gregory Pollard / Atlanta, Georgia

Mr. Richard Womack / Washington, D.C.

Mr. Richard Ray / Atlanta, Georgia Mr. Charles Smith / Sarasota, Florida Rev. Dr. Gregory Sutton / Atlanta, Georgia

THREE YEAR TERM Mr. Kwame Abernathy, Esq. / Atlanta, Georgia Rev. Willie Bolden / College Park, Georgia

Honorary Board Members

Mr. Don Cash / Landover, Maryland

Rev. Dr. Cameron Alexander / Atlanta, Georgia

Rev. J.C. Dyson Sr. / New Orleans, Louisiana

Bishop Phillip Cousin / Jacksonville, Florida

Mr. Randal L. Gaines / LaPlace, Louisiana

Rev. Dr. Walter Fauntroy / Washington, D.C.

Mr. Martin L. King III / Atlanta, Georgia

Chief Elwin Gillum / Little Rock, Arkansas

Dr. Gertie Thompson Lowe / Gadsden, Alabama

Mr. Dick Gregory / Plymouth, Massachusetts

Dr. Jay Patel / Pensacola, Florida

Rev. Dr. Jim Lawson / Los Angeles, California

Mr. Jeremy Ponds / Atlanta, Georgia

Congressman John Lewis / Atlanta, Georgia

Mr. Bennie Roundtree / Greenville, No. Carolina

Dr. Joseph Roberts / Atlanta, Georgia

Dr. C.T. Vivian / Atlanta, Georgia

Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker / New York, New York

Ms. Robin Williams / Washington, D.C.

Hon. Andrew Young / Atlanta, Georgia

Bishop Calvin Woods / Birmingham, Alabama

Dr. Claud R. Young, MD / Detroit, Michigan WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 13

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16 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

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/ PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Rev. Dr. Howard W. Creecy Jr. Dear SCLC Members Supporters & Friends: It is with great enthusiasm that I wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year!

D

uring this 54th year of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, we take pride in the fact: We are the premier non-sectarian, inter-faith, advocacy organization that is still committed to non-violent direct social action as our methodology to achieve social, economic, and political justice. The good news is that this Social Justice Civil Rights organization is healthy and strong. We are physically powerful, our affiliates and chapters throughout the Nation and internationally remain steadfast in its service to the Beloved Community.

This past year was a challenging one for us. We, like many families, regardless of our good intentions, have experienced differences of opinions in the philosophical direction of our great organization. Whether it’s in marriages, personal friendships, family church relationships, neighborhood associations, or nation civil rights organizations; differences do occur from time to time. We will continue to pray for sustained reconciliation and restoration God’s way. In the meantime, we will continue striving to battle the Triple Evils of Racism, Poverty, and Violence that our fallen prince Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so often spoke about. We face 2011 determined that we ain’t gonna let nobody turn us around.

This year, as in past years, we will continue to center our attention on our mission to redeem the soul of America. Our commitment to show the strength to love is renewed. Further, our organization will focus on promoting spiritual principles within our membership to educate children, youth, adults, and the private and public sector in the principles of Kingian Non-violent Conflict Resolution. We advocate personal responsibility and community service. Our desire is to see economic, environmental, social justice and the eradication of racism, classicism and sexism wherever they exist. We undertake this awesome task with our eyes wide open ready and willing to mentor a new generation of leaders and followers.

I encourage you to seek out the local SCLC chapter or affiliate in your community to learn more about our organization and support the tremendous work that is being done to serve and empower people. Consider working with one of our many programs and/or initiatives: voter registration/education, conflict resolution/nonviolence training, economic empowerment, health care, youth development, or collegiate chapter development. There is so much that we can achieve together. We can realize ‘The Dream’.

Howard W. Creecy Jr. SCLC National President & CEO 18 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

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/ CHAIRPERSON’S MESSAGE

Rev. Dr. Sylvia K. Tucker

I

am honored to serve as your chairperson and will continue to serve, connect, and develop strong missions for this great organization the SCLC. Our selected theme at the 2010 SCLC National Convention was to serve, connect and mission for this organization. With this in mind, we have had great challenges for numerous months now more than one year.

Even with the challenges we had to endure, our mission is stronger now than ever under this leadership because we have realized not only that God will provide but will comfort us while serving and connecting to the communities. This is reflected by the work of the strong new leaders of the regional chapters and by the increase in members throughout the Gulf Coast Region during my tenure. ⤴

20 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

Our Journey was from the 2010 National SCLC Convention in Atlanta, where we had a full house and eager participants to begin a new focus in their respective areas for serving all in all communities. One of the proudest moments we have had was when we had a debt free convention. We left Atlanta owing nothing more to the hotel and we have never had to call upon any chapter or members for staff or payroll contributions nor laid off any of our staff during my tenure as chairperson.

As we continue our journey, we have connected to more new leadership for chapters and additional members that we believe would be tantamount to the Gold Rush of the 1800s where thousands are coming to many functions that we are having in the Gulf Coast Region and our commitment to serve with an influx of new membership is thriving. I am a proud chairperson!

I am so elated with the theology and philosophy that God has allowed everything to take place and that we have been in a desert but God has been the Lord of the Dessert.

In considering what He has done we prepared for our 2011 SCLC Chapter and Affiliates Conference, which was held in New Orleans.

This conference was held by our constitution and by-laws requirement on Monday, January 31, 2011.

We enjoyed receiving you at this conference.

As the chairperson of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, I would like to reflect on how our organization has been going through the desert and God is the Lord of the Desert. God has been working on me and allowed new leadership the same as he provided for Moses; our leadership now has humbleness and through this we have learned to serve, much like Moses. But we all must remember that before you and I or SCLC was born God knew its destination and he knows its direction and he will

call the leadership. It’s not me calling leadership nor the national board of directors calling for leadership, God calls leadership! We have had numerous challenges with the SCLC, but, in spite of all of our challenges we have learned that God knows all of our problems before we even knew how to address them. Each one of you must realize that in the event you’re in the desert you can die, meaning SCLC could have died. But God gave this leadership a journey and a place with three bold challenges within SCLC:

...Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered the flock.

—Exodus 2:17

I

The desert he gave is a place of transformation for SCLC:

Our chapters and new leadership have arrived and have obstacles for a number of months to determine it’s maturity relative to bringing its membership closer and being able to transform our new vision with new leadership and transcending to new heights knowing that God will make a way out of no way. As He did when Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian. There were and are chapters in rebellion against leadership but it has allowed for new chapters and new visions and greater hope to those chapters’ leadership to have a new transformation and to have redemption with the new focus of SCLC in it’s deliverance of newer and more energized membership.

With our new board members preparation, it gave us better judgment to determine that our vision of serving and connecting with God to fix the patterns of their memberships, and lastly it gave us humility so that all our members and new leadership can learn to accept God and His will not their wills and desires.

II

The desert is a place of isolation:

After forty years had passed.

—Acts 7:30 After Moses stayed for 40 years. The loneliness of our chapter not being active and allowing others in the Gulf Coast Region and other regions to vitalize themselves with this transition of our leadership has taught us that we can handle anything.

While Moses was fighting evils, our chapters were being redefined by God. We, at SCLC, have learned there is no shortcut to God that you can not fast track Him. We have learned that building our chapters is a stairway for God’s calling, not self calling. We have realized spiritual maturity is greater than being self fulfilled, just to have a chapter for self. Our SCLC has accepted deliverance of chapters with obedience to have patience and follow God’s will. He’s given us judgment, which is being able to recognize that God is working on each one of us and all of our chapters and affiliates and promises redemption for our chapters’ leadership that are recognized to have

maturity and growth in the desert that God will call us the same as He called Moses for the Israelites.

III

The desert is a place of preparation:

His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.’

—Mathews 25:21 Our leadership learned humility and to be very simple, like a shepherd. We have learned to be faithful to a small chapter or chapters with memberships over 1000s. The reason being that God has led us from the wilderness to a land of new direction. Our chapters we are training are ones that know how to respond with diligence and we in leadership recognize that joy comes in the morning!

In closing, to all my Brethren and Sisters, when this leadership was thirsty in the desert, we used Jesus as the living water! When we were thirsty we drank his water and he revived this organization! We learned that isolation in the desert will ordain all men and our leadership because we recognized God is sovereign! God wants to teach SCLC and its leadership and chapters He is still on the throne! So, let me say unequivocally, we welcome everybody from everywhere, but when you come let God call you! When He calls you, you are here to serve, connect, and follow the mission of SCLC and its leadership.

We welcome the SCLC National Board of Directors and all of its new dedicated charters and affiliates that have come on board. We hope that the 2011 Chapter and Affiliates Conference was spiritually fulfilling for all whom embrace Jesus as the Living Water.

Thank you, Rev. Dr. Sylvia K. Tucker. sclc

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 21

/ LETTER FROM THE VICE CHAIRMAN

Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr. Dear SCLC Chapters, Affiliates & Members:

I

thank all of you that participated in the 2011 SCLC Chapter Training Conference held at the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans on January 31, 2011. This was a unique conference due to the fact it is a new beginning for all of our chapters, affiliates, and members. Why? Because you were here to start your adventure of becoming new chapters for the 2011-12 year. All chapters, affiliates, and members will be ratified at our 2011 SCLC National Spring Board Meeting.

April 20-21, 2011, the SCLC National Spring Board Meeting will be held in Atlanta.

Therefore, it is imperative that all chapters submit applications as required by the SCLC National Board of Directors. I am honored to recognize the fact that most, if not all, of our chapter applicants that are being submitted for charters have the opportunity of going the extra mile. They have been actively working and diligently following the policies of the National SCLC. The chapters have enjoyed the liberty of doing God’s work through SCLC by serving the needs of their communities and following the leadership of our National Board of Directors. All of our chapters, board leadership, staff, and members are being revitalized to go the extra mile. This has given SCLC a new opportunity to display the wisdom and sacrifice Dr. King envisioned. We have learned that going the extra mile means choosing to stay focused and being ever-mindful of SCLC’s mission.

When we look at the vitality of our new chapters, affiliates, and members in the Gulf Coast Region of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida we see an unanswered opportunity for our original mission to help the underserved and unrepresented. These chapters have emerged and exhibited the courage originally displayed by the Freedom Riders of the 1960s as they echo the cries and concerns of the people in the oil spill regions. This is the spirit of brotherhood that has now encompassed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and all of its new chapters that are coming aboard. They have become united to help those that are in need and to answer the call to serve and connect.

In closing, we should all take heed from the chapters in the Gulf Coast Region and remember to be responsive to the immediate needs of the people we represent. This example of responsiveness is a cornerstone of how SCLC became relevant then and how she will remain relevant today and tomorrow. In memory of our founder, Dr. King, who even in death continues to lead. We must remember that he led with a prophetic wisdom and unwavering personal self-sacrifice. No more evident than on that fateful night of April 3, 1968: “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. I won’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.

And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.

So I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. ‘Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.’”

—Martin Luther King Jr.

Your Brother in Peace, Bernard LaFayette Jr. SCLC National Vice Chairman

22 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

RECAP: 2011 Chapter & Leadership Conference he year 2011 marks a milestone of change and innovation for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Twenty Directors of the National SCLC Board, a host of chapter members, affiliates, chapter presidents, religious and political leaders met in New Orleans, LA from January 30-31 to discuss their continuing commitment to the ideals of the SCLC. The conference was attended by more than 100 individuals and culminated with a powerful gathering where SCLC leaders addressed the future of SCLC. Chapter leaders had an opportunity to meet SCLC’s new President, Dr. Howard Creecy Jr., as well as other executive officials and staff. The SCLC leadership stands strong having selected Isaac Newton Farris, the nephew of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as its new Vice President. Additionally, esteemed Attorney Marian Parker was appointed to guide SCLC’s vision and staff as the new Executive Director/General Counsel of the SCLC National Office.

The SCLC leaves New Orleans invigorated and ready to advance the agenda of peace-building, justice, equality, and social justice. With a new team in

T

place and a number of public service initiatives on the horizon, SCLC is in position to make some very significant contributions to the social, political, and economic lives of the under-served throughout the world.

SCLC’s New Orleans Conference ended as Black History Month began—and this is no small coincidence. Black History Month is a time to remember and honor the legacies of African-Americans and other African descendent trailblazer who have made notable contributions on national and global fronts.

The alignment of SCLC’s conference close and the beginning of Black History Month is perhaps a fitting and timely reminder of SCLC’s mission and necessary presence as an advocate for peace, justice, and equality. SCLC remains a vital force for social justice as it continues to further the legacy of its founder, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., by working to redeem the soul of America.

Please join our continued efforts to speak truth to power, advocate for the least of these, and eradicate the interrelated triple evils of racism, poverty, and war. sclc

By Damien Conners

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WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 23

/ HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS

Dr. King & the 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott A year-long boycott begins a life of peaceful protest & service.

A

By Charlene Crowell

lthough America’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution are premised on the principles of democracy, the historical treatment of America’s citizens of color is replete with racial dichotomies. Even today, the vestiges of slavery, Civil War, Reconstruction, segregationist Jim Crow laws, forward to the more recent federal laws for voting rights, fair housing and community reinvestment—have yet to assure succeeding generations of African-Americans all of the freedoms afforded a citizen of the United States. ⤴

On May 31, 1956, three black women get out of a station wagon owned by the Bell Street Baptist Church. Support from the local black community and donations from around the world allowed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to purchase and operate a fleet of fifteen new stations wagons that replaced the black-owned cabs and policeharassed volutes drivers originally used in the bus boycott.

24 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

As our nation again marks an annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., now is a timely moment to recall how a youthful but principled leader emerged at a time when this nation was directly challenged to honor its promises of citizenship. Neither age nor longstanding community roots were required to effect meaningful and lasting change. Today’s youth need to know and adults need to be reminded that it was at the young age of 25 that Dr. King began what would become his first successful and peaceful protest—the year-long Montgomery Bus Boycott.

In the fall of 1954, Dr. King began his service as pastor to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Shortly after his arrival in Montgomery, AL, he met a ministerial colleague who would become his life-long deputy— Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy.

Explaining the notable differences in Montgomery’s black churches, Rev. Abernathy advised King, “At my church, you may talk about Jesus. You may preach about Jesus from the pulpit. But at Dexter, they would prefer that you not mention his name.”

Despite this advice, Dr. King pursued innovative ideas for his pastorate. At his first sermon at Dexter Avenue, he presented two dozen written recommendations that would

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WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 25

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reorganize the church’s committees and bank accounts.

The list also included a requirement for every member of Dexter to be a registered voter. In 1954, less than five percent of Alabama Negroes were registered to vote.

With his recommendations accepted, the church moved forward with the formal installation services that took place on October 31, 1954.

A few months later on March 2, 1955, Claudette Colvin, a student at Montgomery’s Booker T. Washington High School was arrested by city police for refusing to give up a bus seat to a white passenger. Later that year another black female, Mary Louise Smith, was also arrested for the same offense. In neither of these instances was the Montgomery NAACP prompted to action or protest. The local chapter seemed to feel that the backgrounds of the student and Ms. Smith would not well withstand scrutiny of white prosecutors.

In those days in Alabama, the first 10 seats on Montgomery buses were always reserved for whites. If the white section filled up, the colored section was made smaller.

But on Thursday evening, December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a local seamstress and secretary of the Montgomery NAACP decided to ride home on the Cleveland Avenue bus from her job at a downtown Montgomery department store. When the white section filled up, the bus driver asked four blacks to move. Three other black passengers complied with the order. Rosa Parks refused and the driver called the police.

Twelve years earlier, Mrs. Parks was evicted by the same driver on another bus.

Recalling the events of that day, Mrs. Parks said, “I didn’t consider myself breaking any segregation laws. I just felt resigned to give what I could to protest against the way I was being treated.”

The one phone call she was allowed from jail led to the response of another local NAACP official, E. D. Nixon. A Pullman porter by trade, Nixon aided the release of Mrs. Parks on a $100 bond. Her trial was set for December 5th.

The following day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received a phone call from Nixon. As he recounted the events of the previous evening, Nixon told Dr. King, “We have taken this thing too long already. We got to boycott the buses...make it clear to the white folks that we ain’t taking this type of treatment any longer.”

Dr. King agreed and offered Dexter Avenue Baptist Church as a meeting place for community leaders. By consensus, they would decide the best course of action. Almost 50 ministers and civic leaders attended the meeting.

They agreed that the bus boycott would begin on the following Monday, December 5th, the same day as Mrs. Parks’ trial. Some 52,000 flyers were printed and distributed to announce the boycott.

The now-famous Montgomery boycott actually borrowed some of its strategy from an earlier but little-known effort. In 1953, Rev. T. J. Jemison, then secretary of the National Baptist Convention, organized a bus boycott in

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In 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on public transportation was unconstitutional. But although this sign came down in Dallas, TX, in April 1956, other signs stayed up throughout the South until protests created the necessary social friction to bring them down.

Baton Rouge, LA. After local Louisiana officials banned the use of cut-rate and unlicensed taxi service, Jemison organized a car pool to provide alternative transportation. That effort lasted only two weeks.

On December 5, 1955, Dr. King, the newly-appointed president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), delivered his first speech on the bus boycott. An overflow crowd of thousands at Holt Street Baptist spilled out of the church and into the streets. Outdoor loudspeakers were set up to enable all in attendance to hear the first address of, the young and emerging leader.

With little time to prepare his remarks, Dr. King’s spellbinding oratory and Baptist cadence captured the spirit of an angry Montgomery black community. “There comes a time my friends, when people get tired of being thrown across the abyss of humiliation, where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair. There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July, and left standing amidst the piercing chill of an Alpine November.”

“I want it to be known”, King continued, “that we’re going to work with grim and bold determination—to gain justice on the buses in this city. And we are not wrong. We are not wrong in what we are doing. If we are wrong —the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong— God Almighty is wrong! And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream!”

A series of negotiating sessions began in early December as well. The protesters had three specific goals: ① Treat Negroes with greater courtesy; ② Hire Negro drivers for Negro routes; ③ and Desegregate bus seating.

In response, white negotiators insisted on racially segregated seating and active negotiations soon stalled.

With the Christmas shopping season fast approaching, Dr. King proposed that instead of traditional gift shopping, Montgomery Negroes should rally to the original meaning of the season and refuse to shop at all. Monies set aside for gifts was

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proposed to be divided three ways among savings account, charity donations and gifts to the MIA.

By January 1956, Montgomery’s bus company advised city commissioners that the loss of revenues had led to the likelihood of bankruptcy. In reaction, the mayor and White Citizens Council called for white residents to stop using their private cars and ride city buses instead. When fare revenues did not improve, a fare hike was approved.

That same month, the city’s daily paper, the Montgomery Advertiser began running news reports on the bus boycott. The first article, printed January 10 suggested that a white Lutheran minister was responsible for nearly 350 daily care rides and raising $7,000 to support the ongoing protest. However, a follow-up report on January 19 appeared with the headline, “Rev. King is Boycott Boss.”

On a tip from Carl Rowan, one of the few black journalists of that time, Dr. King was alerted in late January to a Sunday news article that was to announce the end the boycott.

The article was to claim that Negroes would return to the buses the following business day. Dr. King advised Rowan that he knew of nothing in that regard.

For more than a year, Montgomery’s 30,000 black residents walked, hitchhiked, bicycled, taxied and used every means of transportation except the city buses. Black tax companies reduced regular rates to the same 10 cents charged by the bus company. As time went on, cab fares returned to the regular 45 cents.

On February 1, 1956, the MIA filed a lawsuit in federal district court. Four months later, on June 2nd, the federal

court declared that segregated bus seating was unconstitutional. Later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

On December 20, 1956, the order to integrate buses was served on Montgomery’s officials.

In the year of the boycott, the transit company reportedly lost $250,000 in revenues. Moreover, the city lost thousands of additional dollars in taxes. Montgomery retail merchants estimated their losses to be in the millions.

The boycott and its success won Dr. King as much widespread appreciation as it did resentment. In a December 1954 letter to his son, Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. prophetically advised, “You see, young man, you are becoming very popular. As I told you, you must be very much in prayer. Persons like you are the ones the devil turns all of his forces loose to destroy.” sclc With extensive experience in communications and public affairs management in three state capitols and major markets in the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest, Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s communications manager for state policy and outreach. She is also an award-winning journalist who has worked in television, radio and publishing. Additionally, Charlene has served as a press secretary to both a mayor and state attorney general.

A Gary, Indiana native, “The Charlene M. Crowell Collection” housed at the Calumet Regional Archives at Indiana University Northwest includes a wide range of writings throughout her career and is available to researchers, scholars and writers.

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28 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

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WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 29

/ HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS

P

Jo Ann Gibson Robinson: The Woman who Initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott

By Charles L. Alphin Sr.

F

ifty-five years ago when the historical Montgomery Bus Boycott started in Montgomery, Alabama I was an angry 15-year-old male African American living in segregated St. Louis, Missouri. Angry as a result of the injustices I experienced socially, educationally and economically because of my color. These injustices were also experienced by my mother, father, grandparents, relatives and friends.

Three primary reasons precipitated the writing of this article: To expose readers to personalities that are normally left out in describing the Montgomery Bus Boycott; To clarify misinformation concerning this historical event; and To explore how concerned people can organize and mobilize to address current issues. ⤴

1.

2.

3.

My heart filled thanks to all the people who helped me in my pilgrimage in Kingian Nonviolence training and transformation, specifically: Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr; Mrs. Coretta Scott King and family; Mrs. Christine King Farris; Rev. C.T. Vivian; and my wife and immediate family.

— Charles L. Alphin Sr.

30 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

rofessor Jo Ann Gibson Robinson was born in Georgia in 1912 as the twelfth child with six brothers and five sisters. Her father died when she was six years old.

Her good grades provided scholarships to complete her education at Georgia State College in Atlanta. In the fall of 1949, Dr. Councill Trenholm, president of Alabama State College in Montgomery, hired her to teach English.

Her first day at Alabama State College afforded her the opportunity to meet Dr. Mary Fair Burks, president of the Women’s Political Council (WPC). Prof. Robinson joined the same day and was elected president of the WPC a year later.

At the end of her first teaching semester in December of 1949 Prof.

Robinson parked her car in the garage at Alabama State College. She then boarded a bus to the airport with intentions of flying home for the Christmas holidays to visit family and friends in Ohio. As she relaxed on the bus with her eyes closed she was shocked by the male bus driver’s voice who demanded that she relinquish her fifth seat, which was reserved for “whites only” and move to the back. When she opened her eyes the bus driver was standing over her shouting in a loud voice as if he was going to hit her. She immediately exited the bus and called a friend to take her to the airport but her holiday season was spoiled.

To understand and appreciate the climate in which Prof. Robinson and others challenged the unfair bus system, it is important to understand the religious, educational and social environment and its origination in Montgomery: After the end of slavery Negros from the segregated First Baptist Church formed an independent Negro Baptist Church. Most of the whites in the church welcomed the split but openly rejected the Fourteenth Amendment which recognized Negro citizenship rights. During this

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Jo Ann Robinson (1912-1992) was a civil rights activist and professor at Alabama State College (now Alabama State University) who became president of the Women’s Political Council in Montgomery, AL and battled segregation of the city’s bus system.

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32 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

time the population of Montgomery increased rapidly as people from the rural areas moved to the city of Montgomery because of crop failure and foreclosures. The political leadership felt they could stall and deny Federal laws and thus the city was temporarily taken over by the Federal Government until city leaders reconsidered.

Ten years after the forming of the Negro First Baptist Church there was a split in the church. The church purchased land and a building located a block from the front entrance of the Alabama State Capitol. The minister of the newly formed all Negro Dexter Avenue Baptist Church stated the members were people of money and refinement.

The congregation consisted mostly of professionals and teachers from Alabama State College while farmers and rural residents were the majority at Negro First Baptist Church several blocks away. Montgomery developed as a totally segregated city between races and blacks were also involved in class separation.

In the 1950s Montgomery was the third largest city in Alabama and once the capital of the Confederacy of the eleven southern states that waged the Civil War against the rest of the United States. Montgomery’s economic life was heavily influenced by Maxwell and Gunter Air Force Bases. In 1955, according to the annual report of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, a total of $58 million was channeled into Montgomery’s business economy. The bases were fully integrated but Montgomery practiced a strict pattern of racial segregation. The lack of industry in Montgomery forced Negroes to go into domestic service: 63% of the Negro women workers in Montgomery were domestics and 48% of the Negro men were laborers or domestic workers. The median income for the 70,000 white people in Montgomery was $1,730 compared with $970 for the 50,000 Negroes. Every aspect of the Negro life depicted severe economic deprivation.

Dr. Martin L. King Jr. arrived in Montgomery in 1954 as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Some people in Montgomery believed the church was sort of a “silk-stocking” church catering only to a certain class. Often it was

referred to as the “big folks” church. Dr. King revolted against this perception and felt that the church should cater to all classes of people. Presently, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church and some other churches struggle today with this perception.

Prof. Robinson was delighted about the favorable ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, May 17, 1954, making segregated schools unconstitutional.

This gave her hope for the bus conditions in Montgomery and on May 21, four days after the Supreme Court handed down its landmark ruling related to segregated schools in the United States, she wrote a letter to Montgomery Mayor W.A. Gayle and City Commissioners asking them to consider the following: • A city law that would make it possible for Negroes to sit back to front and whites sit front to back until all seats are taken.

• Negroes not be asked or forced to pay the fare, and go to the back of the bus to enter.

• That buses stop at every corner in residential sections occupied by Negroes as they do in residential sections occupied by whites.

Montgomery Mayor W.A. Gayle and City Commissioners turned deaf ears to Prof. Robinson’s recommendations concerning Negro issues on city busses.

After learning of Rosa Parks’ arrest on Thursday, December 1, 1955, Prof. Jo Ann Robinson called E.D. Nixon after 1:00 a.m. Friday morning to suggest that the people of Montgomery boycott the buses on Monday, December 5. E.D. Nixon called Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and both agreed to the suggestion.

After making the early morning call to E.D. Nixon, Prof.

Jo Ann Robinson and two of her students met in the Alabama State College duplicating room. She and the two students stayed up all night running off over 52,000 flyers explaining the arrest of Rosa Parks and asking Negro people to stay off the buses on Monday. They delivered the flyers in her car to the Negro community in Montgomery and members of the Women Political Council (WPC) on Friday morning, December 2. After staying up all night she was present to teach her 8:00 a.m. class at Alabama State College.

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Timing on Social Issues: Even though other females were arrested prior to Rosa Parks, Prof. Robinson was anxious to address the bus conditions, yet she understood the strategy for waiting.

We Join the SCLC in Honoring the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & Mrs. Coretta Scott King

Leadership: Prof. Robinson was a strong leader with influence but was humble enough to follow. Mr. E.D. Nixon, an influential leader with no degrees, and Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Dr. King was a 25-year-old minister and recent PhD graduate from college and President of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), the association that would lead the boycott.

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WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 33

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Coalition Building: As a member of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, President of the Women’s Political Council and co-chairperson of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Political Action Committee appointed by Dr. Martin L. King Jr., Prof.

Robinson, was willing and able to work with all segments of the community including grass-root people to solve the problem.

Power of the People: The bus boycott was something all people could participate in even if they did not ride the bus. Prof. Robinson volunteered to drive service cars that transported people who were not using the bus.

Power in Organizing: Prof. Robinson joined active organizations, the church, Women’s Political Council and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to address the problem with numbers.

Realistic Goal: The goal was clear and reasonable. The boycott dramatized the problem to appeal to the hearts of people of “goodwill.” The Supreme Court (there where no Blacks serving in 1955) solved the problem.

Some other personalities instrumental in the Montgomery Bus Boycott were: Rev. Ralph D Abernathy: Pastor, First Baptist Church and Vice President, Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

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Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Durr: White Montgomery attorney and friends of Rosa Parks

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Rev. Robert Graetz: White pastor of Black congregation who supported the boycott and suffered extreme harassment Attorney Fred Gray: Lawyer who represented Rosa Parks and worked with the MIA

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Mrs. Coretta Scott King: Wife of Dr. Martin L. King Jr. E. D. Nixon: President of the Montgomery Progressive Democratic Association and former NAACP state president Rufus A. Lewis: President of the Citizens Steering Committee and man who nominated Dr. King as president of the MIA

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Dr. Vernon Johns: Activist Pastor that preceded Dr. Martin L. King Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church

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34 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

If something in this article heighten your interest in obtaining additional information I recommend the following resources: 1. Branch, Taylor, “Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963,” 1988, Simon and Schuster.

2. King, Martin L. Jr. “Stride Toward Freedom” Harper and Row Publishers 3. Parks, Rosa “My Story,”1992, Dial Books.

4. Robinson, Jo Ann Gibson, “The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Women Who Started It,” 1987, University of Tennessee Press. sclc

Bob King President International Union, UAW

Miguel Foster Director Civil & Human Rights Dept.

Saluting the power of a dream and the courage of a voice.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968

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WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 35

Photo Credit: Pam Zappardino

/ HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS

36 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

2011 Bernard LaFayette Jr.

By Bernard LaFayette Jr., Ed.D. SCLC National Vice Chairman & Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

A Test Ride to Freedom Without any doubt, my journey with John Lewis that Christmas of 1959 testing the segregated bus system was the beginning of the journey & Jackson, Mississippi became the pilgrimage that ended segregation in public interstate transportation throughout the entire nation.

T

he Freedom Rides not only focused on desegregating the portion of a national industry which had allowed its buses, bus terminals, facilities, and restaurants to succumb to the fears and prejudices of the day. However, the goal of the Freedom Rides was to test the very foundation on which those laws continued to be enforced. The United States Superman Court had in the cases of Morgan and Boynton declared these practices unconstitutional and illegal.

The issue was being twisted as to whether or not people would be allowed to exercise their constitutional rights to travel freely throughout the United States. The other issue was being argued as a state’s rights issue of whether the Federal Government could tell the several states, mainly the southern portion, what they could and could not do regarding their black and white citizens.

It must be said that the discrimination practiced in the southern states main focus only helped to feed the false notion that blacks and whites were not equal; with whites having an undeserved sense of superiority and blacks a feeling of inferiority. The fierce enforcement of Jim Crow Laws which were spelled out in the codified laws of the southern states were to punish with a purpose those whose behavior did not conform to these laws. The underlying notion was to present these laws as moral authority, one where, if not obeyed, the will of God was being violated.

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 37

It was not enough to simply present these laws as simple man-made edicts, edicts made by an ever-decreasing racist white majority.

This was the premise that they gained the support of the separation of the races, it was often heard during that time that, “If God meant for us to be together He would have made us together.”

Southern states viewed people who came from the north and encouraged others to stand up to this injustice as outside agitators who were bent on changing the Southern way of life. It was most important to have this support of the minority of whites who believed it was time for the Southern way of life to be as ancient as the actual battle of the states which originally determined the direction of America’s way of life. The other purpose of the Freedom Rides was to give a “shot-in-the-arm” to movements in local cities. It was to help inspire them to end desegregation in their local communities. We would arrange for mass meetings in each town where the buses stopped to ensure we challenged the system not upon our arrival, but on our exit—In some places where we experienced no visible opposition to our ride, we later joked that we were “honorary whites for a day.”

Long before the Freedom Rides of the 1960s became known to the world, the idea was gaining life in a trip taken by myself and John Lewis (currently a U.S. Representative, Atlanta, GA) the Christmas of 1959. John and I were students at American Baptist College at the time and we decided to take our own freedom ride down south to our homes. John was traveling to Troy, AL and I was heading to Tampa, FL. We both boarded the same bus in Nashville, TN towards our respective destinations. I remember our tickets called for us to leave around 7 or 8 that night. I even remember the tickets for interstate travel came like a

38 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

Above, Picture: Nashville Movement Freedom Riders Rip Patton (left), Bernard Lafayette Jr. (right), and James Lawson (behind Lafayette), seated on a bus with armed National Guards en route to Jackson, MS. Below, Picture: May 14, 1961, a Greyhound bus with 14 members of an interracial group that was part of the Freedom Rides was firebombed outside Anniston, AL.

booklet, where at each stop along the way we had to present the booklet. This was unlike the single intrastate tickets that came on a single stub.

Since bus tickets were not seat specific we decided in Nashville that we would sit in the front of the bus. I sat in the first seat behind the driver and John sat on the opposite side in the second row. We were so ready to begin our journey we were the first to get on the bus. Once we were seated the bus driver ordered us to move to the rear we didn’t reply nor did we move from our seats. Having been trained by Rev. James Lawson Jr., participated in the Nashville Sit-Ins and arrested on numerous occasions, we were ready to go to jail and possibly received physical abuse. We had previously decided not to move from our seats even if ordered.

Looking back on it, I was fortunate that I carried my luggage, one leather suitcase, onto the bus and placed it at my feet behind the bus driver’s seat. As we waited for the other passengers to board the bus, the bus driver stood up and said, “OK, since you’re not going to move, wait until I come back.”

We had no idea of what was about to happen, but we assumed he had gone to get a policeman or possibly to call the Ku Klux Klan. He returned no more than ten minutes later, but alone. Other passengers had boarded the bus with some whites sitting in the seats behind John and me. The bus driver appeared visibly upset as he stood over us in an apparent sign of intimidation.

The man was tall and very large, an imposing

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WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 39

figure who towered over us once he stepped back on the bus, but he said nothing. He had a frown of disappointment on his face, as if disgusted that his call for help had gone unanswered. Abruptly, he sat down, started up the bus and adjusted his seat by ramming it back towards me.

The force by which he did this caused his seat to puncture a hole in my suitcase because it had come off its track. If not for my decision to carry on my bag, the trip would have had a painful beginning, because the force of the driver’s seat would have assuredly injured my legs.

Only in reflection do some things from the past become clear, but it was quite a statement that a bus driver, the enforcer of the law on the bus, was unable to carry out his duties and will. By a shear act of God, each time the driver left the bus as we assumed he did to call for help his calls went unanswered. However, it was probably more of fate’s blessing that our tickets had us leaving and traveling at night. Had we been traveling in the daylight his calls of help may have been answered. If he was calling the Klan, a group who worked to deliver their versions of rope and fire justice in the night, that if in fact they were being called upon they couldn’t get it together to catch two little black boys riding alone throughout their territory.

I remember the ride and as we went further south it grew darker and darker. Each time we stopped along the way the bus driver got off the bus and each time he returned alone, but our anxiety continued to rise as the trip went further and further into the “belly of the beast” that was the Deep South. We arrived in Troy, AL, at a gas station which was posing as a bus station. John’s ride had not shown up at the station and I just remember seeing him alone surrounded by the darkness—I pondered his fate as the bus pulled away. That night I wondered if I would ever see my best friend again.

As I continued along the unlighted two-lane highways that crisscrossed the south, my fate too rested in the hands of what was at each stop. Needless to say, I did not sleep on that bus. I was ever-so relieved to finally cross the Ala-

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1961, mug shot of Bernard Lafayette Jr.

bama-Florida state line even though the northern part of the state marched to the beat of the “segregation now segregation forever crowd,” the further south you went the less of a hold that beat had in the ears of those who heard it. I, also, breathed easier with no word or news that could have involved John (no news was good news). For my pickup, I had contacted Rev. C.K. Steele, president of the local SCLC Chapter in Tallahassee, FL and board member of the National SCLC, and gave him my bus schedule to ensure if anything happened at least one person would know.

He could then have the bus driver answer to him and give an account of my whereabouts. Once I saw Rev. Steele at the bus station, I knew my trip was safely over.

Although my destination was Tampa, FL, this journey was only the beginning of a pilgrimage. We had to start planning how we could recruit others to “take this ride to freedom,” which would not start until May of 1961, when the Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E) launched the Freedom Rides. When the Freedom Rides were started by C.O.R.E and met with violence in Anniston, AL, I dropped out of college with other students from Nashville, who had been involved in the Sit-Ins to desegregate the lunch counters and the

Photo Credit: Pam Zappardino

Stand-Ins to desegregate the movie theaters, to continue the Freedom Rides. I was attacked at the Montgomery, AL bus station and arrested at the Jackson, MS bus station with the first group of Freedom Riders. We were incarcerated in the Mississippi prison system for a total of 39 days. After our release, in a two-week period, James Bevel and I recruited 42 local Mississippi students to be apart of the Freedom Rides and for this we were arrested again in Jackson.

Without any doubt, my journey with John Lewis that Christmas of 1959 testing the segregated bus system was the beginning of the journey and Jackson, MS became the pilgrimage that ended segregation in public interstate transportation throughout the entire nation. sclc

REV. DR. BERNARD LAFAYETTE JR.: Is an ordained minister, a longtime civil rights activist, organizer, and an authority on nonviolent social change. He co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960, and was a core leader of the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville, TN, in 1960 and in Selma, AL, in 1965.

Lafayette directed the Alabama Voter Registration Project in 1962, and was appointed by Martin Luther King Jr. to be national program administrator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and national coordinator of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.

EDUCATION: Ed.D., Harvard University, 1974; Ed.M., Harvard University, 1971; and B.A., American Baptist Theological Seminary, 1961 PUBLICATIONS: The Community Leaders Workbook: The Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation Program: Strategies for Responding to Conflict and Violence, (1998); and The Leaders Manual: A Structured Guide and Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence, co-authored with David Jehnsen, (1995)

May 24, 1961, with his head still bandaged from a previous beating, a young John Lewis is arrested in Jackson, MS along with 26 other Freedom Riders for the “crime” of riding in the “Whites Only” section of an interstate bus.

REFERENCES: More details regarding the Freedom Riders can be found in: 1. Book by Raymond Arsenault, “Freedom Riders, 1961 and the struggle for Racial Equality,” Oxford University Press 2. The film, “Freedom Riders,” written, produced and directed by Stanley Nelson, www.freedomridersfilm.com (see page 46 of this issue).

THE GREATEST TRIBUTE IS TO CARRY OUT HIS VISION, IDEAS AND COMMITMENT. MACY’S REMEMBERS THE LIFE, WORK AND LEGACY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 41

For More Information go to www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/rides

THREATENED. ATTACKED. JAILED.

IN THE BEGINNING Jim Crow Laws: The segregation and disenfran-

chisement laws known as “Jim Crow” represented a formal, codified system of racial apartheid that dominated the American South for three quarters of a century beginning in the 1890s. The laws affected almost every aspect of daily life, mandating segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains, and restaurants. “Whites Only” and “Colored” signs were constant reminders of the enforced racial order.

In legal theory, blacks received “separate but equal” treatment under the law—in actuality, public facilities for blacks were nearly always inferior to those for whites, when they existed at all. In addition, blacks were systematically denied the right to vote in most of the rural South

through the selective application of literacy tests and other racially motivated criteria. The Jim Crow system was upheld by local government officials and reinforced by acts of terror perpetrated by vigilantes. In 1896, the Supreme Court established the doctrine of separate but equal in Plessy v. Ferguson, after a black man in New Orleans attempted to sit in a whites-only railway car.

As bus travel became widespread in the South over the first half of the 20th century, it followed the same pattern.

“Travel in the segregated South for black people was humiliating,” recalled Diane Nash in her interview for “Freedom Riders”. “The very fact that there were separate facilities was to say to black people and white people that blacks were so subhuman and so inferior that we could not even use the public facilities that white people used.”

Transit was a core component of segregation in the South, as the 1947 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) pamphlet and Bayard Rustin song, “You Don’t Have to Ride Jim Crow” attests. Keeping whites and blacks from sitting together on a bus, train, or trolley car might seem insignificant, but it was one more link in a system of segregation that had to be defended at all times—lest it collapse. Thus transit was a logical point of attack for the foes of segregation, in the courtroom and on the buses themselves.

It would take several decades of legal action and months of nonviolent direct action before these efforts achieved their intended result. sclc

Checks Unlimited joins the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in celebrating the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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SCLC1Q © 2011 Direct Checks Unlimited Sales, Inc.

42 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

“I cannot stand on the campus of Antioch College e of appreciation for all that this great ngg has ggiven to the cultural, the social and the political life of our nation and the world. All men bted to this great institution for its ts rich tradition.”

– Drr.. M Mar artin Luther King Jrr.,., Antioch College Commencement, 1965

A newly independent Antioch College reclaims its legacy cy this fall. Visit www www.antiochcollege.org .antiochcollege.org to lear learnn more.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

10-10-10

30th Anniversary Community Celebration!

Capture the

DREAM

...at the national park in downtown Atlanta that preserves the actual places where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, worked, worshiped & is buried.

• Experience emotional exhibits of the civil rights struggle

• View Dr. King’s family artifacts, including his Nobel Peace Prize

• Tour the birthplace & childhood home of Dr. King

• Stop at Fire Station No. 6 & learn about the desegregation of the Atlanta Fire Department

• Visit historic Ebenezer Baptist Church • Reflect at the gravesite of Dr. King & Mrs. King

• Walk along the Birth Home Block of historic & fully restored homes

Martin Martin Luther Luther

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WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 43

Dedicated to Physician and Patient An Equal Opportunity Employer www.purduepharma.com

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Husch Blackwell Sanders is proud to support the SCLC and their goals of diversity and equality.

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THREATENED. ATTACKED. JAILED.

TIMELINE December 4, 1960–Supreme Court reaffirms desegregation ruling for public facilities: In Boynton v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirms its 1946 ruling outlawing segregation on interstate travel, extending the ban to waiting rooms, lunch counters and restroom facilities for interstate passengers. The Freedom Riders will test this ruling during their trips to the South the following summer.

May 3, 1961–CORE Freedom Ride departs Washington, DC: Thirteen Freedom Riders and three journalists depart from Washington, DC on the original CORE Freedom Ride.

May 8, 1961–CORE Freedom Riders face resistance in Carolinas: Joseph Perkins is the first Freedom Rider to be arrested after sitting at a “whites only” shoe-shine stand in Charlotte, NC. Later that same day, Freedom Rider John Lewis is assaulted in the Greyhound bus terminal of Rock Hill, SC, after attempting to enter the white waiting room with fellow Freedom Rider Al Bigelow.

May 12, 1961–CORE Freedom Riders arrive in Atlanta, GA: The CORE Freedom Riders arrive in Atlanta, GA, where Martin Luther King Jr. warns them of violence ahead.

May 13, 1961–CORE Freedom Riders bus #1 burned near Anniston, AL: An angry mob of KKK members and their supporters burns a Freedom Riders’ bus near Anniston, AL.

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44 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

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May 13, 1961–CORE Freedom Riders bus #2 attacked in Birmingham, AL: A riot breaks out at the Trailways Bus Station in Birmingham, AL. A KKK mob savagely beats both Freedom Riders and innocent bystanders alike with iron pipes, chains, and clubs.

May 14, 1961–Bus drivers refuse to drive CORE Freedom Riders: CORE Freedom Riders attempt to continue their ride, but bus drivers refuse to leave the station for fear of their lives.

May 16, 1961–Nashville Student Movement Freedom Riders jailed in Birmingham, AL: The Nashville Student Movement sends a new group of Riders to Birmingham, AL, where they are arrested and jailed by Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor.

May 17, 1961–Nashville Student Movement Freedom Riders driven to the Tennessee border: Bull Connor drives the jailed Riders from Birmingham, AL to the Tennessee border in the middle of the night, dropping them off in the tiny town of Ardmore, AL and instructing them to take a train home.

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May 18, 1961–Nashville Freedom Riders return to Birmingham: The Nashville Riders return to Birmingham and attempt to leave the city by bus. Bus drivers again refuse to depart the station, fearing the mobs waiting outside.

Robert Bosch Tool Corporation 1800 W. Central Road Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056

Equal Opportunity Employer

May 19, 1961–Freedom Riders attacked in Montgomery, AL: The Freedom Riders arrive in Montgomery, AL where a police escort abandons them to an angry mob. Freedom Rider Jim Zwerg and Federal Official John Seigenthaler are badly injured in an ensuing brawl.

May 20, 1961–1,500 people threatened in Montgomery’s First Baptist Church: Montgomery’s First Baptist Church is besieged by a mob with firebombs. Approximately 1,500 people are inside, including Freedom Riders and Civil Rights Movement leaders Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and Fred Shuttlesworth. Federal troops break up the mob and evacuate the church early the next morning.

May 21, 1961–Civil Rights leaders and Freedom Riders plot strategy in Montgomery, AL: For the next two days, Riders and Civil Rights Movement leaders take shelter and plot strategy at the Montgomery home of prominent AfricanAmerican Pharmacist Dr. Richard Harris.

May 23, 1961–Freedom Riders jailed in Jackson, MS: The Riders board buses from Montgomery, AL to Jackson, MS under National Guard escort. They are jailed upon arrival under the formal charges of incitement to riot, breach of the peace, and failure to obey a police officer.

ISP Calvert City is an Equal Opportunity Employer #/20?!

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Tower Isle’s Frozen Foods, Ltd. 2025 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11233 Supports Equal Opportuntiy for All, Regardless of Race, Creed, Sex, Age, Disability or Ethnic Background

June 11, 1961–Freedom Riders sent to Parchman State Prison Farm: Riders are transferred to Mississippi’s notorious Parchman State Prison Farm. Segregationist authorities attempt to break their spirits by removing mattresses from the cells. New Freedom Riders will continue to arrive in Jackson, MS and be jailed throughout summer.

October 31, 1961–ICC ruling enforces the desegregation of interstate travel: After five months of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience by the Freedom Riders and their supporters, the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issues a ruling enforcing the desegregation of interstate travel. The ruling removed “whites only” signs from terminals and enforced the end of segregated seating on interstate bus transit. sclc

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University of Minnesota Duluth 1049 University Drive Duluth, MN 55812 www.d.umn.edu Supports equal opportunity for all regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status or sexual orientation.

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 45

FREEDOM RIDERS Premiers on PBS May 2011 For More Information go to www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/rides

About the Film: FREEDOM RIDERS is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives— and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism.

From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson (Wounded Knee, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, The Murder of Emmett Till) FREEDOM RIDERS features testimony from a fascinating cast of central characters: the Riders themselves, state and federal government officials, and journalists who witnessed the Rides firsthand. The two-hour documentary is based on Raymond Arsenault’s book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice.

Despite two earlier Supreme Court decisions that mandated the desegregation of interstate travel facilities, black Americans in 1961 continued to endure hostility and racism while traveling through the South. The newly inaugurated Kennedy administration, embroiled in the Cold War and worried about the Filmmaker Stanley Nelson nuclear threat, did little to address domestic civil rights.

“It became clear that the civil rights leaders had to do something desperate, something dramatic to get Kennedy’s attention. That was the idea behind the Freedom Rides—to dare the federal government to do what it was supposed to do, and see if their constitutional rights would be protected by the Kennedy administration,” explains Arsenault.

Organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the self-proclaimed “Freedom Riders” came from all strata of American society— black and white, young and old, male and female, Northern and Southern.

They embarked on the Rides knowing the danger but firmly committed to the ideals of non-violent protest, aware that their actions could provoke a savage response but willing to put their lives on the line for the cause of justice.

Each time the Freedom Rides met violence and the campaign seemed doomed, new ways were found to sustain and even expand the movement. After Klansmen in Alabama set fire to the original Freedom Ride bus, student activists from Nashville organized a ride of their own. “We were past fear. If we were going to die, we were gonna die, but we can’t stop,” recalls Rider Joan Trumpauer-Mulholland. “If one person falls, others take their place.”

Later, Mississippi officials locked up more than 300 Riders in the notorious Parchman State Penitentiary. Rather than weaken the Riders’ resolve, the move only strengthened their determination. None of the obstacles placed in their path would weaken their commitment.

The Riders’ journey was front-page news and the world was watching. After nearly five months of fighting, the federal government capitulated. On September 22, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued its order to end the segregation in bus and rail stations that had been in place for generations. “This was the first unambiguous victory in the long history of the Civil Rights Movement. It finally said, ‘We can do this.’ And it raised expectations across the board for greater victories in the future,” says Arsenault.

“The people that took a seat on these buses, that went to jail in Jackson, that went to Parchman, they were never the same. We had moments there to learn, to teach each other the way of nonviolence, the way of love, the way of peace. The Freedom Ride created an unbelievable sense: Yes, we will make it. Yes, we will survive. And that nothing, but nothing, was going to stop this movement,” recalls U.S. Congressman John Lewis (Atlanta, GA), one of the original Riders.

Says filmmaker Stanley Nelson, “The lesson of the Freedom Rides is that great change can come from a few small steps taken by courageous people. And that sometimes to do any great thing, it’s important that we step out alone.” sclc

46 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

© 2010 010 C.H C C.H. H. Rob Robinson obin nson W Worldwide, orldwide, Inc. All Rightss R Reserved. www www.chrobinson.com .chrrobinson.com

both “We “We have established a great relationship throughout the years that’s both dependable and loyal. T This his is what enables bles Stallworth Truc Trucking, Trucking, Inc. to prosper!”

- Harold Stallworth, worth, Stallworth Truc Trucking, T rucking, Inc.

Gr Great eat P People, eople, Gr Great eat Opportunities From From Hong Kong Kong to Barcelona and from Calgary to A Atlanta, tlanta, we are a peopledriven, global company that values the fact that no two team members, and no two supply chains, chains, are alike. As one of the world’s largest freight logistics companies, we know our success lies in being a great place to work, a great company to work with, and to making our communities a great place to call home.

For F more information on joining our team or developing business opportunities with us, contact: solutions@chrobinson.com solutions@chrobinson.com 800.323.7587

employment opportunities

You have the power to combat drug trafficking.

SPECIAL AGENTS Infiltrate criminal organizations. As a DEA Special Agent, you will investigate unlawful activities surrounding the trafficking of illegal drugs in the US. Enforce domestic laws and regulations. Arrest criminals who grow, manufacture and distribute these substances worldwide.

Shut down their operations, and bring them to justice. It’s a challenge we take on every day — and it depends on the abilities of diverse individuals skilled in a variety of areas to collect and analyze information, collaborate with local, national and international agencies, and

prosecute major violators. This is a mission like no other. Make it yours. DEA is an equal opportunity employer. www.dea.gov Response or Event Information Goes Here.

Response, Event Information Here. Response or Event Information Here. Response Here.

U.S. Department of Justice

DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION TOUGH

W O R K.

V I TA L

M I S S I O N.

mattel honors the memory of

dr. martin luther king, jr.

At Mattel, Everyone Plays. Unparalleled creativity, dynamic teamwork, respect of others, integrity and rewards for excellence are how we play .

We welcome every race, gender, religion to come play for us. Learn more about Mattel and our career opportunities at www.mattel.com/careers . © 2009 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

48 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

Larson-Juhl is the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of quality picture framing products. We salute the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for their efforts.

For Career Opportunities, Visit www.larsonjuhl.com 25 National Locations EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

I AM FDNY EMS JOIN THE FDNY MILLIONS DEPEND ON ME. MY OFFICE IS THE STREET. MY WORK IS YOU.

EMS COMMAND FDNY Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) are a part of the largest, most highly-trained emergency medical service in the world. They respond to more than 1.2 million emergencies each year – that’s more than three calls a minute! They are on call to save lives – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Become one of New York City’s Best – join the FDNY EMS Command today. Millions will depend on you. And you can depend on a competitive salary, up to 3 weeks vacation, career growth opportunities, choice of a wide variety of health plans, and the chance to retire in 25 years*.

Act now. Call 311 or go to nyc.gov/fdny.

EMT Valerie Vera-Tudela Station 49, Queens

NOW HIRING Call 311 or go to nyc.gov/fdny.

EMS COMMAND S AV E L I V E S F O R A L I V I N G

An Equal Opportunity Employer Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor Nicholas Scoppetta, Fire Commissioner * Benefit changes subject to collective bargaining.

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 49

employment opportunities

See Diversity As Strength When you’re ready for a career with a corporation where diversity and teamwork equal strength, and employees are valued for their skills and abilities, you’re ready for SCANA Corporation.

Headquartered in Cayce, SC, SCANA Corporation is a Fortune 500 energy-based holding company, with $12 billion in assets, whose businesses include regulated electric and natural gas utility operations and other energy-related businesses. SCANA’s subsidiaries serve approximately 659,000 electric customers in South Carolina and more than one million natural gas customers in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. SCANA has nine significant direct, wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Please visit our website at www.scana.com for more information on the career opportunities SCANA has to offer. Diversity and teamwork are the essence of our business and the power that inspires our careers. Women, minorities, veterans and disabled individuals are encouraged to apply. SCANA is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and of the Secretary of Labor’s Opportunity Award, which recognizes one company for comprehensive proud recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s Opportunity Award, which recognizes one company for comprehensive workforce strategies that exemplify Equal Opportunity Opportunities.

www.scana.com

WHY NOT CHANGE THE WORLD?

Imagine a company whose diversity initiatives go way beyond requirements.

Novartis is proud to be the force that’s bringing new hope and optimism to our world in so many different ways.

www.pharma.us.novartis.com/ about-us/diversity-inclusion/index.jsp

50 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

Rensselaer employees are rewarded through a competitive compensation package, an exceptional benefits plan, professional growth and development, and continuing educational opportunities. Our faculty, staff and students enjoy Rensselaer’s park-like, 275 acre campus located on a hill side overlooking the historic city of Troy, New York and the scenic Hudson River.

The area is home to numerous museums, cultural centers, state parks, ski resorts and more.

A variety of opportunities exist in all areas for those who possess the experience, skills and leadership to make a difference.

Rensselaer offers a competitive compensation and benefits package. To explore your chance to change the world, apply on line at http://rpijobs.rpi.edu We welcome applications from candidates who will bring diverse cultural, ethnic, and national and international perspectives to Rensselaer’s work and campus communities.å

The 30,000 people of the Forest Service work in the most scenic and inspiring forests and grasslands our nation has to offer, as well as in offices and research laboratories nationwide. The American people own the National Forests and we are their managers, performing valuable work today that will be appreciated by generations to come.

There's so much you can do in a Forest Service career! Our extraordinary diversity of occupations and locations make it easy to find a position to suit your talents.

R Plan intelligent utilization of forest resources R Perform research that benefits natural resources R Protect the place of wildlife and fisheries in the ecosystem R Manage rangeland and watersheds R Conduct environmental impact studies R Manage wildfire prevention and suppression R Provide a safe and clean place for people to recreate R Use your public affairs skills for community involvement R Support our technical and financial efforts R And so much more Hundreds of occupations, from firefighters to engineers to biologists. Hundreds of locations. The Forest Service offers challenging, worthwhile careers, all with excellent benefits. For more information, visit our website: www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs.

Equal Opportunity Employer

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employment opportunities Energy & Construction

W Welcomes elcomes a Diversity Diversity of Talent Talent al At URS, we provide a fully integrated engineering, construction and pro technical al services organization with the capabilities to support every stage of the project roject life l cycle cycle.. vide these services for the U.S. federal government, national We provide o other countries, state and local government agencies in ments of governments ed States Sta and internationally, FORTUNE 500 companies and other the United multinational ational corporations. URS has approximately 45,000 employees in a network of offices in more than 30 countries.

Iff you’re you’’re up to the challenge, we we invite you you to join our winning team.

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Riverside Regional Medical Center 500 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard Newport News, Virginia (757) 594-2025 www.riversideonline.com employment@rivhs.com

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Pratt Industries 1800 C Sarasota Business Park Conyers, Georgia 30013 www.prattindustries.com

C.J. COAKLEY CO., INC.

7732 LEE HIGHWAY t 'ALLS CHURCH, VA 22042 TEL t 'AX: 703/560-1043 Has been successfully engaged in the interior finish trades for over 25 years. Since its beginning, the company has delivered quality work at competitive prices.

Creative. Innovative. Knowledgeable.

Qualities that could only come from people with diverse outlooks.

At Xerox, the diverse viewpoints of our people are the foundation of our business. We are proud to join the SCLC in honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and congratulate the organization on its 52 years of service.

Drawing on the diversity of a global workplace and offering equal opportunity to achieve success.

EOE MF/D/V © 2011 XEROX CORPORATION. All rights reserved. XEROX® sphere symbol is a trademark of XEROX CORPORATION in the United States and/or other countries.

xeroxcareers.com

52 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

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RUBIN POSTAER & ASSOCIATES Supporting the dreams of all in search of equal employment opportunities, irrespective of race, creed, sex, age, disability, or ethnic background.

www. rpa.com

KEEPING ARMSTRONG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FLYING HIGH! Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is the gateway to one of the most exciting cities in the world – New Orleans, legendary for its history, food and good times!

The Airport is one of the largest employers in the metropolitan New Orleans area and is owned and operated by the City of New Orleans, an equal opportunity employer.

The Airport is governed by the New Orleans Aviation Board which adheres to nondiscriminatory practices in the award and administration of contracts through its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Office. It is the Board’s commitment to remove any barriers which may impede DBE participation and ensure that the DBE Program is narrowly tailored in accordance with applicable laws. In addition to the DBE Program, many opportunities have been created in the community for businesses and individuals to participate in business growth and development.

OUR COMMITMENT TO

EXCELLENCE

For the employees of Valero, it is no surprise that the company has ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s list of Best Big Companies to Work For. It’s not just the excellent benefits package, or the opportunities for personal growth, it’s also the caring and committed culture of the organization that makes everyone feel like they’re truly part of a team.

Valero promotes an atmosphere of acceptance throughout the company.

21,000 employees

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Unlimited Opportunities

www.flymsy.com Æ Business Opportunities www.nola.gov Æ Businesses Æ Doing Business with the City

For more information about Valero visit www.valero.com

A GREAT UNIVERSITY MUST EMBRACE DIVERSITY IN EVERY POSSIBLE DIMENSION. WE MUST ENGAGE THE FULL RANGE OF HUMAN CAPITAL AS WE CREATE A BROADLY REPRESENTATIVE AND INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY THAT IS INTEGRAL TO OUR MISSION OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP AND GLOBAL AWARENESS.

Office of Institutional Diversity

Embracing Differences. Enlightening Minds. www.tufts.edu

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 53

We believe in equal opportunity for all regardless of race,

Gordon Food Service, Inc.

Chattem, Inc.

333 50th Street, SW Grand Rapids, Michigan

1715 West 38th Street Chattanooga, Tennessee

We Join the SCLC in Honoring the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dillard’s 1600 Cantrell Road Little Rock, Arkansas

Manhattan College Riverdale, New York City New York 10471 1-800-MC2-XCEL | www.manhattan.edu

Founded 1853

Wacker Chemical Corp.

3301 Sutton Road Adrian, Michigan 49221

FCL Graphics 4600 North Olcott Avenue Harwood Heights, Illinois

www.wacker.com

We Join the SCLC in Honoring the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Bollag International Corp.

May His Dream Become a Reality for All People.

6924 Orr Road Charlotte, North Carolina 28213

Evening Post Publishing Co.

54 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

creed, sex, age, disability, or ethnic background.

Burgess Pigment Co., Inc. Beck Boulevard Sandersville, Georgia

810 Fairgrove Church Road, Hickory, NC 28602 Supports Equal Opportunity for All, Regardless of Race, Creed, Sex, Age, Disability or Ethnic Background

It’s all about people ... and always will be. www.vnb.com

A.L. Gilbert Company

Equal Housing Lender Member FDIC

304 N. Yosemite Avenue Oakdale, California

www.protective.com

Institute of Nuclear Power Operations 700 Galleria Parkway SE Atlanta, Georgia

WE JOIN THE SCLC IN HONORING THE MEMORY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

100 SOMERSET CORPORATE BOULEVARD, BRIDGEWATER, NEW JERSEY 08807-0911 We value diversity, and fully support equal opportunity regardless of race, sex, color, age, national origin, disability, or veteran status

Congratulations SCLC on 54 Years of Progress

Forrest City School District #7 845 North Rosser Forrest City, Arkansas

CF Industries 4 Parkway North, Suite 400 Deerfield, Illinois 60615

American Riggers Supply, Inc. 1010 Kansas Avenue Kansas City, Kansas 3907 West Wendover Ave. | Greensboro, NC 27407

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 55

We believe in equal opportunity for all regardless of race, Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

NIC Holding Corp.

2 Manhattanville Road, Suite 301 Purchase, New York

25 Melville Park Road Melville, New York

Univision Radio

Rudolph Foods Company

5100 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas 77056-7308

P.O. Box 509 Lima, Ohio

Arthur J. Gallagher & Company

Compliments of

Two Pierce Place Itasca, Illinois

Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

Pridgeon & Clay, Inc.

Ruthrauff | Sauer, LLC

50 Cottage Grove SW Grand Rapids, Michigan

400 Locust Street McKees Rock, Pennsylvania

The Malpractice Law Firm Jack H. Olender & Associates, P.C.

Hidden Villa Ranch

Washington, D.C.

310 North Harbor Boulevard, #205 Fullerton, California 92832

(202) 879-7777

www.hiddenvilla.com

Brooks Automation 15 Elizabeth Drive Chelmsford, Massachusetts 08124

Faulkner State Community College 1900 U.S. Highway 31 South Bay Minette, Alabama 36507 (800) 231-3752

PHS Correctional Healthcare

Central Garden & Pet Company

105 West Park Drive, Suite 300 Brentwood, Tennessee

1340 Treat Boulevard, Suite 600 Walnut Creek, California 94597

56 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

creed, sex, age, disability, or ethnic background.

General Asphalt Company

Lucite International

4850 N.W. 72nd Avenue Miami, Florida

7275 Goodlett Farms Parkway Cordova, Tennessee

Oak Grove School District 6578 Santa Teresa Boulevard San Jose, California 95119

OPW Fueling Components 9393 Princeton-Glendale Road Hamilton, Ohio 45011

St. John Parish School District P.O. Drawer AL Reserve, Louisiana 70084 www.stjohn.k12.la.us

Berkeley School District #87 Administration Center

www.opw-fc.com

1200 North Wolf Road Berkeley, Illinois 60163

Baker Roofing Company

Louisiana Delta Community College

517 Mercury Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 (919) 828-2975

132 Old Highway 65 S Tallulah, LA 71282

Commercial Lithographing Co. 12226 Chestnut Kansas City, Missouri

(800) 215-3905

Harrington Memorial Hospital 340 Chomeson Webster, Massachusetts 01570 www.harringtonhospital.org

North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company

Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corporation

P.O. Box 27427 Raleigh, North Carolina

P.O. Box 460 Trinity, Alabama

News Broadcast Network

Western Construction Group, Inc.

451 Park Avenue South New York, New York 10016

1637 North Warson St. Louis, Missouri

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 57

We believe in equal opportunity for all regardless of race, AC, Inc. 1085 Jordan Road Huntsville, Alabama

Community Living Services, Inc. 35425 Michigan Avenue Wayne, Michigan

Guest Services, Inc. 3055 Prosperity Avenue Fairfax, Virginia

African American Trading Co. Jewell Industries, Inc. 3101 Hubbard Road Landover, Maryland 20785

Corrosion Products, Inc. 635 Hanley Industrial Court St. Louis, Missouri

Hallen Construction Company, Inc. 4270 Austin Boulevard Island Park, New York

Crimson Fire, Inc. 907 7th Avenue N Brandon, South Dakota

Heraeus Precious Metals Management 65 Euclid Avenue Newark, New Jersey

D&L Coal Company, Inc. P.O. Box 185 Bloomington, Maryland

Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C. 40 Wall Street New York, New York

D.W. McMillan Memorial Hospital 1301 Bellville Avenue Brewton, Alabama

Holy Family Catholic Church 1910 19th Street Ensley, Birmingham; Alabama

Davenport-Harris Funeral Home, Inc. 301 MLK Jr. Drive SW Birmingham, Alabama

Horizon Wine & Spirits / Nashville, Inc. 337 28th Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee

Davey Tree Surgery Company P.O. Box 5015 Livermore, California

Hubbard-Hall, Inc. 563 South Leonard Street Waterbury, Connecticut

Arkwin Industries Inc. 686 Main Street; Westbury, New York

DePaul University One East Jackson Boulevard Chicago, Illinois

Hyatt Place Downtown 330 Peachtree Street Atlanta, Georgia

Associated Production Services, Inc. 325 Andrews Road Trevose, Pennsylvania

Dr. Thomas C. Pendleton 985 Ninth Avenue SW, Suite 406 Bessemer, Alabama

Ira Higdon Grocery Company P.O. Box 39828 Cairo, Georgia

Atlanta Technical College 1560 Metropolitan Parkway Atlanta, Georgia (404) 756-4200

English Construction Company P.O. Box P-7000 Lynchburg, Virginia 24505

Jelly Belly Candy Company 1501 Morrow Avenue North Chicago, Illinois 60064

Exodyne, Incorporated 8433 North Black Canyon Hwy., Ste. 200 Phoenix, Arizona

Jim Bishop / Chevrolet-Buick-Oldsmobile 118 Highway 43 South Tusecumbia, Alabama

Farmers & Merchants Bank P.O. Box 280; Washington, Georgia

John Taylor 3435 Meridian Way Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Farmers Furniture P.O. Box 1140 Dublin, Georgia

Klaasmeyer Construction Co., Inc. P.O. Box 847 Conway, Arkansas

Filtra-Systems Company 23900 Haggerty Farmington Hills, Michigan

LSW Engineers 2333 West Northern Avenue Phoenix, Arizona

First National Bank of Byers Cattleman’s Branch; Central & Main St.

Mark Murovitz A Friend in Atlanta

Gas Incorporated P.O. Box 1223; La Grange, Georgia

Mayer Electric Supply Company, Inc. P.O. Box 73812 Newnan, Georgia 30271

Alabama Council on Human Relations 319 West Glenn Avenue Auburn, Alabama 36830 www.achr.com America First Credit Union P.O. Box 9199; Ogden, Utah American Service Center 585 North Glebe Road Arlington, Virginia Applied Engineering Services, Inc. 9100 Keystone Crossing, #200 Indianapolis, Indiana Arcade Marketing, Inc. 3800 Amnicola Highway Chattanooga, Tennessee 37406

Barker, Boudreaux, Lamy, & Foley 228 St. Charles Avenue, #1110 New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 Barr & Barr, Inc. 460 West 34th Street, 16th Floor New York, New York Berman Brothers, Inc. 2500 Evergreen Avenue Jacksonville, Florida Best Way Rent to Own Norfolk, Virginia Bethany Christian Services, Inc. P.O. Box 294901; Eastern Avenue NE Grand Rapids, Michigan 1-800-BETHANY Brunswick Corporation One North Field Ct. Lake Forest, Illinois Byers, Texas FX Matt Brewing Company 811 Edward Street; Utica, New York Capital City Bank P.O. Box 900 Tallahassee, Florida Community Action Against Addiction, Inc. 5209 Euclid Avenue; Cleveland, Ohio Brenda M. Abrams, CEO

58 SCLC Magazine / WINTER 2011

Gosling Czubak Engineering Sciences, Inc. 1280 Business Park Drive Traverse City, Michigan Great Southern Bank 1451 East Battlefield Springfield, Missouri 65804 (800) 749-7113 www.greatsouthernbank.com Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau 2200 Ninth Avenue N Birmingham, Alabama

Mercedes Homes 6767 North Wickham Rd., Suite 500 Melbourne, Florida 32940 www.mercedeshomes.com Merit Brass Company One Merit Drive; P.O. Box 43127 Cleveland, Ohio Monticello Banking Company 50 North Main Street P.O. Box 421 Monticello, Kentucky

creed, sex, age, disability, or ethnic background.

MS Consultants, Inc. 333 East Federal Street Youngstown, Ohio Mt. Zion First Baptist Church 333 Martin Luther King Drive San Antonio, Texas Murray’s Worldwide, Inc. 21841 Wyoming Oak Park, Michigan 48237 NCP Coating Company, Inc. 225 Fort Street; Niles, Michigan New York Newspaper

South Mississippi Electric Power Association P.O. Box 15849 Hattiesburg, Mississippi Southern Family Markets 800 Lakeshore Parkway Birmingham, Alabama Spartan Chemical Company 1110 Spartan Drive Maumee, Ohio (800) 537-8990 www.spartanchemical.com

Vigil Electric Company, Inc. 72 Providence Street Hyde Park, Massachusetts Vital Signs Inc. 20 Campus Road Totowa, New Jersey Voss Industries, Inc. 2168 West 25th Street Cleveland, Ohio W.L. Gary Company, Inc. 225 Vine Street NW Washington, DC

Oregon Freeze Dry, Inc. P.O. Box 1048; Albany, Oregon

St. Joseph Regional Catholic School 115 Plum Street Florence, Alabama

OSI Systems, Inc. 12525 Chadron Avenue Hawthorne, California 90250 www.osi-systems.com

Stack-On Products Company P.O. Box 489 1360 North Old Rand Road Wauconda, Illinois

Wesley E. Starnes, PC 2122 12th Avenue NE Hickory, North Carolina 28601

Penna & Mendicino Law Firm 1902 Old Covington Highway SE Conyers, Georgia

Stewart Funeral Home 4001 Benning Road NE Washington, DC

Woodstream Corporation 69 North Locust Street Lititz, Pennsylvania

Pharr Yarns, LLC P.O. Box 1939 McAdenville, North Carolina

Sutherland’s Foodservice, Inc. P.O. Box 786 Forest Park, Georgia

WOOF-AM & FM www.woofradio.com www.997wooffm.com Dothan, Alabama

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) / Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries / Presbyterian Women 100 Witherspoon Street Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Teague Housing Authority Equal Housing Opportunity 205 South Fifth Teague, Texas

WSLS-10 / On Your Side P.O. Box 10 Roanoke, Virginia 24022

Printing Pressmen’s Union #2 1501 Broadway, #1712 New York, New York

The Bartech Group 17199 N. Laurel Park Drive Livonia, Michigan 48152

YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta 100 Edgewood Avenue NE, Suite 1100 Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Public Broadcasting Service 2100 Crystal Drive Arlington, Virginia 22202 www.pbs.org

The Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. 767 Fifth Avenue New York, New York

COMPLIMENTS OF FRIENDS IN:

Rawlings Sporting Goods 510 Maryville University Dr., Suite 110 St. Louis, Missouri 63141

The Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Philadelphia 1 North Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Reco Industries, Inc. P.O. Box 25189 Richmond, Virginia Rosedale Federal Savings & Loan Association 6708 Belair Road Baltimore, Maryland RTI International Metal 1000 Warren Avenue Niles, Ohio SDI Technologies, Inc. Corporate Office 1299 Main Street Rahway, New Jersey Semmes Bowen & Semmes 25 South Charles Street, #1400 Baltimore, Maryland Smithfield Manor, Inc. 902 Berkshire Road P.O. Box 1940 Smithfield, North Carolina

The Palmetto Bank P.O. Box 49 Laurens, South Carolina 29360 (864) 984-8300 www.palmettobank.com Timex Group USA, Inc. 555 Christian Road Middlebury, Connecticut Turkey Hill Dairy, Inc. 2601 River Road Conestoga, Pennsylvania Twentytwo Squared 1170 Peachtree Street NE 15th Floor Atlanta, Georgia

Wall Street Access 17 Battery Place New York, New York

Birmingham, Alabama Phoenix, Arizona Santa Barbara, California Westport, Connecticut Delray Beach, Florida Atlanta, Georgia New Orleans, Louisiana New York, New York

United Roosevelt Savings Bank 11-15 Cooke Avenue Carteret, New Jersey

Everett, Pennsylvania

Vogue Tyre & Rubber Company P.O. Box 593 Mount Prospect, Illinois

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

WINTER 2011 / SCLC Magazine 59

We Join the SCLC in Honoring the Legacy of Dr. King in Celebrating his 82nd Birthday & Black History Month by Remembering the Important People & Events in African American History

WPP

By Choice, Fully Supports Equal Opportunity for All, Regardless of Race, Creed, Sex, Age, Sexual Orientation, Disability or Ethnic Background

WORK TO SUPPORT THEM WORK TO PROTECT THEM

Careers ers at Transp Transportation portation Security Secu y Adminis Administration stration Protect all that’s good about our nation by securing its transportation infrastructure.

Earn competitive compensation and Federal beneffits, its, including health insurance it options, retirement plan, f lexible work schedule and more. r 5SBOTQPSUBUJPO 4FDVSJUZ 0ffff JDFST r 'FEFSBM "JS .BSTIBM 4FSWJDF r .BOBHFNFOU "ENJOJTUSBUJWF BOE 1SPGFTTJPOBM To learn more and apply, please visit IUUQT / UTBKPCT UTB EIT HPW, text “TSA” to 95495 or call 1.877.872.7990.

U.S. Citizenship Required.

TSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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9/30/10 9/30/10 0/10 10 3:03:05 PM

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Your parents wanted you to become a doctor or lawyer.

You wanted to

protect

a nation.

Individual perspectives keep us strong. When you bring your unique talents to the Central Intelligence Agency, you can help us meet a vital American mission. It’s an exclusive opportunity to experience a rewarding career, making a worthwhile and valuable contribution in the midst of world-changing events. In return, you’ll receive excellent opportunities to excel — no matter which career path you choose to take.

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THE WORK OF A NATION. THE CENTER OF INTELLIGENCE.